news & views on the Alberta Technology sector

Where Calgary Ranks Last with a D grade . . .

It speaks volumes about Calgary’s entrepreneurs at companies like Poynt, Tynt, Calgary Scientific and Chaordix, to name a few; that many are succeeding admirably in spite of a complete lack of foresight, support, imagination, or commitment to diversification on the part of the government and financial community, or the misguided, glacial performance of the the $100 million Alberta Enterprise Corporation – see Alberta Taxpayers provide BC VC’s with $29 Million(c’mon guys, prove us wrong, actually get some money invested in Alberta startups!)

No major Canadian city puts less money into venture capital than Calgary, home to some of the country’s highest disposable incomes. Of a dozen global cities ranked by the Toronto Board of Trade, Calgary is last in Canada, with just $808 in venture capital spent per $1-million of municipal GDP.

Interesting to note that Vancouver enjoys more than double Calgary’s level of Venture Capital Investment, likely due to a generous provincial tax credit for angel investors, providing critical early funding for startups. A allotment of $30-million each year is available, with individual investors able to collect as much as $60,000 apiece on investments of $200,000.